Tracking insights from 544 CRE executives worldwide, 39 percent of whom are in Asia Pacific, the survey details the C-suite’s growing recognition of CRE and the corresponding pressure on CRE teams.

“Today in Asia Pacific C-suite executives have an unrelenting focus on wringing the maximum productivity out of their office space. In response, CRE executives must use increasingly sophisticated data and analytics to make their facilities portfolios more efficient,” says Jordi Martin, JLL CEO of Corporate Solutions, Asia Pacific.

“Speaking to CRE professionals in the region, we’ve found that the most pressing challenge they are facing is the need to balance cost reduction with value creation. But while we are seeing that the CRE function is rapidly maturing, its transformation from tactical manager to trusted advisor is far from complete,” he adds.

JLL’s third biennial Global Corporate Real Estate Trends report shows that CRE teams are even more challenged to transform their role from order takers to order makers today than in the firm’s last survey in 2013. More than half of respondents report even greater C-suite expectations in nearly every category.

A concerning 15 percent say that they are poorly equipped to meet the increased demands—a proportion that has doubled since 2013. Meanwhile, the percentage of those who say they are “well-equipped” has fallen from 28 percent to 17 percent. Lack of access to data and analytics was the top-rated constraint limiting further development of the CRE function.

Top C-suite demands to CRE teams include:

Share CRE decision-making with the business. C-suite leaders expect their CRE executives to enlist business leaders in making facilities decisions. Sixty-two percent of CRE executives report increasing C-suite demand to present scenarios and solutions to the business, and nearly 70 percent report increasing demand to challenge the business about its presumed space needs.

Improve workplace and workforce productivity. CRE teams are at the forefront of creating a more positive experience and increased effectiveness in the workplace. Sixty-two percent of CRE teams see increasing demand from leadership to enable more flexible working, and 59 percent see increasing demand to support cultural change.

Improve asset and business productivity. The C-suite also expects improved productivity across the corporate real estate and facilities portfolio, a complex goal with many moving parts. In 2015, six in 10 CRE teams report pressure to improve the productivity of the physical real estate assets, a significant increase over the 47 percent reporting this pressure in 2013.

According to Mr Martin, the most effective means to transform the CRE function in a business is to prioritise people and people skills. This combined with a strong data and analytics platform will facilitate smarter corporate real estate decisions.

“The key both in Asia and globally is a business-aligned approach that prioritises data science, proactive leadership and predictive analytics,” says Mr Martin. “Without this shift, CRE teams will continue with ‘business as usual’ instead of breaking through to the next level.”

A leader in real estate outsourcing, JLL’s Corporate Solutions business helps corporations improve productivity in the cost, efficiency and performance of their national, regional or global real estate portfolios by creating outsourcing partnerships to manage and execute a range of corporate real estate services. This service delivery capability helps corporations improve business performance, particularly as companies turn to the outsourcing of their real estate activity as a way to manage expenses and enhance profitability.

About JLL

JLL (NYSE: JLL) is a professional services and investment management firm offering specialized real estate services to clients seeking increased value by owning, occupying and investing in real estate. With annual fee revenue of $4.7 billion and gross revenue of $5.4 billion, JLL has more than 230 corporate offices, operates in 80 countries and has a global workforce of approximately 58,000. On behalf of its clients, the firm provides management and real estate outsourcing services for a property portfolio of 3.4 billion square feet, or 316 million square meters, and completed $118 billion in sales, acquisitions and finance transactions in 2014. Its investment management business, LaSalle Investment Management, has $55.3 billion of real estate assets under management. JLL is the brand name, and a registered trademark, of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated. For further information, visit www.jll.com.​